


A Grey Christmas

by orphan_account



Series: Christmas with the Starks [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas/New Years, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, slight homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5592070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddard and Catelyn Stark have been happily married for twenty years, and they have five beautiful children whom they couldn't live without. But as the holiday season approaches, Cat confronts her husband about an underlying worry which has been nagging at her for years. Ned isn't sure whether to laugh, or if it might be time to have a family discussion about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Grey Christmas

**7:21am, December 24th, 2015**  


**  
**

Ned had always been an early riser - never needing an alarm clock to get him out of bed. Most mornings he could take his time and watch his wife snore softly against the pillows, or he might surprise her by making breakfast in bed. One constant which had always been the same almost every single day for the past 22 years was that Ned always awoke before Cat did. So when Ned woke up today to see Cat sat up straight, eyes wide open, he had to feel at least a little bit of shock.

  


"Hey, honey, is everything alright?", Ned asked, affectionately rubbing her stiff shoulder.

  


Catelyn's lack of a response didn't help. Ned began to seriously worry. Most of their children had all come back home yesterday from their respective schools/universities/jobs, so Ned couldn't help but toy with the thought that something might have happened to them. His mind wandered back to memories of Bran's mountain-climbing accident, and also when Rickon had nearly ran away from home.

  


"Cat", Ned sat up straight and turned her to face him, "what's wrong?", he said as he gave her a reassuring smile, as if to say  _'you can tell me anything'_.

  


The tears began freely falling down her face. Ned held his wife tight against him, letting her sobs muffle into his chest. After what seemed like an eternity, Cat lifted her head and whispered into Ned's ear, "I think that Arya might be gay".

  


Ned laughed at that. Hells, it wasn't even a laugh; he was booming. He felt his face turn red, and the laughing had made his cheeks become sore. The only reason why he stopped was because of the death-glare that his wife was giving him.

  


He rubbed the tears from his eyes and calmed himself down immediately.

  


"This is serious, Ned!", Cat scolded him. There wasn't even a slight hint of amusement on her features.

  


"I'm sorry, you're right", Ned hung his head in shame. He often forgot that Cat took these sorts of things  _very_ seriously. For example, when his nephew Jon had come home many years ago with another boy who he called his boyfriend, Cat had subsequently not allowed Jon to sleep in the same bedroom as Robb. It took Ned weeks to convince his wife that homosexuality is not, in fact, contagious, no matter what she hears on Fox News or in the magazines she reads.

  


"So... why do you think that Arya is gay?", Ned began awkwardly, forcing himself to bite his cheek to stop the smile from re-emerging on his face at this bizarre conversation. 

  


"It's just that Jon is gay, and Arya has always been really close to him, even when she was younger, so she might have picked it up from him", she started, "not to mention the tattoos, the piercings, the clothes she wears. She looks like a typical lesbian, Ned!", she stated, "she has never had a boyfriend either. I always brushed it off until now, but she's sixteen now for Sevens' sake! Sansa had a boyfriend by the time she was sixteen!", she ranted on.

  


Ned pressed a finger to his wife's lips to stop her. He had heard more than enough. It was a shame that she hadn't let Ned know about this sooner. These were clearly underlying issues that his wife was letting fester. He wished that he could have talked to her about this sooner. But he supposed that it was better to do this late than never.

  


"First of all, we've talked about the whole Jon thing. He's not 'influencing' anybody else. Being gay is something that you're born with, not something that you choose", Ned told her, not for the first time in his life feeling deja vu, "secondly, Arya's allowed to wear what she wants, and do whatever she wants with her own body, as long as she's not harming herself or anybody else", he continued, "and finally, we need to just give Arya some time. She'll find a boyfriend eventually", he added.

  


Cat found herself nodding in agreement with her husband, as she did with most things. "I'm sorry, Ned", she apologised sincerely, "you're absolutely right. I was ridiculous to even think these things".

  


"You don't need to apologise", Ned replied, giving her a couple of quick-fire kisses on her lips, "and don't feel ridiculous. You're allowed to worry about these things; just don't say these things out loud to the kids. Speaking of which, let's go downstairs. I'm sure that some of them are already awake".

  


**12:06pm, December 24th, 2015**  


**  
**

Cat looked over at Ned, who was attempting (and failing) to discreetly wrap up some last-minute presents and put them beneath the tree which Cat, Sansa, Bran and Rickon had spent all morning decorating. Cat had nearly had a heart attack when Bran started to climb up the tall pine tree to put the shiny angel decoration on top. But it turned out to be fine with no injuries.

  


Right now Cat was chatting with Sansa about how her first year at university was going. She was going through what her classes were like, and Cat was asking about how people were treating her, and if she'd made any friends.

  


Eventually the conversation drifted back to what it always went to: her boyfriend, Joffrey. Literally everybody else saw how snobbish, cruel and petulant the boy was, except for Sansa. Sansa had always put him on a pedestal, and continued to pretend to love him even after the bruises started popping up on her arms. 

  


There had been a time when Catelyn had genuinely worried for her daughter's mental health where it regarded Joffrey. Catelyn used to stay awake at night into the early hours of the morning so that she could hear Sansa crying. Catelyn had tried to convince Ned to send Sansa to Bible Camp so that she could find peace with the gods, but Ned had brushed Sansa's sadness off as 'just a phase', and claimed that it would pass.

  


The fact that it did eventually pass wasn't the point, though. Sansa could just as easily have started a path of self-harming, which wouldn't have been a far cry from where Sansa's depression had been at the time. It had been a realistic possibility, and Ned would have just let it happen. Ned of all people should know that time doesn't heal all wounds.

  


There were certainly some days when Cat wished that her husband took a more proactive position in their childrens' lives. A certain level of privacy could be good, in moderation, but Sansa had clearly needed a way to get away from Joffrey at that time.  _Perhaps I can convince Ned this time to send Arya to Bible Camp_ , Catelyn thought to herself, taking a mental note to talk to Ned about it later.

  


"How are things with Joffrey?", Cat forced herself to ask her daughter, choosing to acknowledge the tension in the air.

  


Surprisingly, Sansa smiled. She continued to pet her dog, Lady, for a moment before looking up into her mother's eyes - blue meeting blue. "I broke up with him", she said cheerfully.

  


"Wha- wow. Congratulations, Sansa!", Catelyn hugged her daughter tightly. Cat was glad that Joffrey attended a different university than Sansa, otherwise he might have let his rage out on her, but Joffrey was miles away down in the south.

  


"Thanks", Sansa responded.

  


Before Cat could call Ned over to tell him the news, the doorbell rang.

  


"I'll get it!", Cat said to Ned across the room, who was still 'discreetly' wrapping presents.

  


Catelyn went to the front door and opened it, smiling when she saw her eldest son Robb. She hugged him briefly before pulling back. He had brought someone with him, it seemed. The boy holding Robb's hand looked extremely familiar, but Cat couldn't for the life of her put a name to his face at that exact moment.

  


"Mother, you know Theon", Robb seemed to pick up on her hesitation.

  


"Oh!", Catelyn exclaimed, "welcome back, Theon", she shook the Greyjoy lad's extended hand. Theon had once stayed with the Stark family for nearly a whole year after his family had abandoned him. Ned looked after him, and although it was supposed to be a temporary thing, Theon ended up staying for a while and quickly became best friends with Robb.

  


Catelyn wasn't exactly comfortable with Theon, though. The reason why his family had abandoned him was because he was gay. Cat had petitioned her husband to kick Theon out as soon as possible, but her husband wouldn't have any of it. The only reason why Theon had eventually left was so that he could go to university.

  


So back in the present, Cat seemed to notice the hand-holding in front of her even more so than before.

  


"So I...um, have something to tell you", Robb said shyly, his cheeks flushing a deep shade of red.  _Why is he embarrassed?_ , Cat asked herself, but she already suspected what he would say next. "Theon and I are...", Robb spoke, clearing his throat before carrying on, "we're dating".

  


That had been the exact thing that Cat had been dreading. All of a sudden, Ned had appeared behind her and was already congratulating Robb and Theon, inviting them into their house. Cat simply stood there, staring out the front door in paralysing shock. She was thankful that Ned had been there, since she couldn't seem to get a single word out.

  


She knew all too well that if Ned hadn't been there then she would have shouted at her son or even kicked him out. She would have regretted that decision later on, knowing that it would have killed Robb to have heard that from his mother. Theon would have left Robb and perhaps gone down a spiral of depression at being rejected by his second family as well, and Robb would never have forgiven his mother for it.

  


After a while had passed, Catelyn closed the front door and retreated back into her house.

  


But when she saw Robb and Theon making out on  _her_ couch, all she saw was red.

  


**8:01am, December 25th, 2015**  


**  
**

Ned knew that Catelyn hadn't slept all night. 

  


He had managed to avoid a disaster yesterday just after Catelyn had seen Robb and Theon kissing in the living room by taking her aside and letting her cool off. She had skipped dinner last night too. That was probably for the best. Ned opted to let Catelyn sleep on it, but as it turned out Catelyn hadn't slept much last night anyway. He hoped that she had at least composed herself overnight.

  


Suddenly their youngest child burst into the room and jumped onto the bed. "It's Christmas!", Rickon announced.

  


"Is it?", Ned teased, giving Cat a 'discreet' wink.

  


"Yes!", their son shouted at the top of his lungs, restlessly jumping up and down on their bed.

  


"Go and wake up your siblings, then", Cat said smiling. For a moment she seemed to have forgotten everything about yesterday, but Ned could tell the exact moment that it all came back to her. "But let your father wake Robb", she added before Rickon left.

  


Ned sighed, and was about to talk to Cat, but she gave him a pointed look which said  _'don't question it'_. Other than being impressed with himself at being able to read his wife's expression so well after years of practice, Ned was also concessive to the point; wordlessly agreeing to wake up their eldest son and his boyfriend.

  


**8:25am, December 25th, 2015**

  


It took a while for everyone to get up, and a further half dozen cups of coffee to get everybody to fully wake up, but when they were all there sitting beneath the fresh Christmas pine tree which Ned had cut down for them last week, Cat felt that nostalgic feeling of excitement which she felt every year.

  


All of her children excitedly tore at wrapping paper and squealed in delight at their presents. Cat and Ned went more slowly - taking the time to watch their childrens' individual reactions to opening specific presents which they knew they'd like.

  


Cat had to laugh when Sansa opened what was supposed to be her best present (some overpriced perfume from an upjumped celebrity) but had no surprised reaction. Ned had given her a confused look, to which Sansa had responded by saying that she saw him 'discreetly' wrapping it yesterday.

  


Ned and Cat went away to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast while their children played with their presents and bantered with each other.

  


"Merry Christmas, honey", Ned punctuated it with a lazy kiss.

  


"Merry Christmas", she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck, "and happy anniversary". 

  


22 years together, to the day. 20 years of which they had been married. That first night they had been together had ended up leading to a young baby Robb being born nine months later. People had questioned them the whole way, and made terrible jokes about her and Brandon. But nobody today would dare to question their love. Other peoples' marriages had come and gone, but they had stayed together through thick and thin.

  


She was pulled from her reverie by Bran's voice coming from the hallway. "Mother! Father! I have an announcement to make!", he declared.

  


They proceeded to leave the kitchen and join the rest of the family in the living room where everybody else was already sitting patiently.

  


Bran stood at the centre of them all, and even when Cat and Ned had sat down, it took him a while to get his confidence.

  


"Well spit it out", Arya urged impatiently.

  


"Ok...", Bran said, but when he didn't follow it up with anything Arya's patience ran out and she went outside to play with the dogs.

  


"It's alright, Bran. Take your time", Sansa said sweetly, kind as always.

  


Bran then looked directly into his mother's eyes. "I've signed up for a youth climbing expedition to Mt Everest", he blurted out.

  


Catelyn was speechless. She felt herself go dizzy. She looked back at her son, taking in the sight of climbing gear and Bear Grylls' DVDs which he had received as Christmas presents. It suddenly occurred to her that he was born to do this. He had been a climber from a very young age, after all. The subject had always interested him, and had defined a lot of the sport he did. 

  


Perhaps Ned had a point. She couldn't cage her children up and try to protect them forever. If she wasn't supportive of this, then how could he do it confidently? Catelyn couldn't help but fear the thought of Bran having a fall like he'd had before in the past, but the more she searched herself the more she found a different, stronger emotion. One that she could almost describe as... pride.

  


So Catelyn smiled. Not because she thought it was the best idea, or because she particularly liked the idea of Bran going back into a wheelchair for months, but rather because she was finally letting Bran go free, and she wanted him to be sure of her support and her love. Catelyn practically felt herself going over a mental hurdle as she hugged her son. It was truly a Christmas miracle.

  


"There's something else", Bran spoke up after everyone had given their congratulations.

  


Everyone looked at him again expectantly. If it was even possible, he seemed even more nervous than before.

  


"I...uh, I have a boyfriend", Bran revealed.

  


Catelyn froze at that. "Who?", she demanded.

  


"Jojen Reed", he answered, not able to make eye contact with her.

  


She felt like screaming. She didn't give a shit about his prior announcement. She glared first at Bran, then at Robb, then at Ned, as if it were their faults.

  


**2:36pm, December 25th, 2015**  


**  
**

Catelyn had been avoiding everyone all day after Bran's announcement. Ned had tried his best to remedy the situation. He had spoken individually to Bran and Robb. He had then tracked down Jon, who had smartly slipped away before Cat could take out her rage on him.

  


Ned then went outside to talk to Arya, mostly to let her know what Bran had said. It turned out that she already knew, as she was friends with Meera who had already been told by Jojen. 

  


Ned had also scolded Arya for smoking a cigarette outside. Arya responded by screaming and shouting that she was sixteen, as if her age made it ok that she was smoking. Ned honestly knew that there was no getting to Arya who was stubborn and would dig her heels in with issues like these, but Ned told her off for the sake of his wife. Catelyn already had enough on her plate with all that had occurred over the last two days, so she didn't need any more heartache from Arya.

  


It certainly didn't help that Arya had told him that she planned to move to Braavos in two years to attend a university there. Ned had told her to wait for a while before telling her mother, and also that she might change her mind over the next two years.

  


By the time Ned had finished talking to his children, it was nearly the afternoon. He spent the ensuing hours preparing for the Baratheons to come over, which they did every year for Christmas dinner as per tradition.

  


Ignoring everything else, Ned felt pretty excited about his best friend Robert coming over.

  


As Ned was putting plates on the table, he bumped into Jon again. "Oh, hey, Jon", Ned said passively while he carried on working.

  


"I have something to tell you, dad", Jon said. Both Ned and Jon knew that they weren't father and son, but Ned liked it when Jon called him that anyway. In the end, it  _was_ Ned who had raised Jon like he was his son for the past 22 years.

  


"Go on", Ned encouraged.

  


"I have a new boyfriend", Jon said.

  


"What?! No way! You're gay?!", Ned jested sarcastically. It was a running inside-joke between him and Jon. He knew that Jon was gay ever since he brought a boy called Satin back home when he was 17, but Ned would always jokingly repeat Catelyn's reaction all the time with Jon.

  


Jon laughed good-heartedly with him for a moment before clarifying, "his name is Sam. I've invited him over for New Years".

  


"Is he nice?", Ned asked, his paternal instinct kicking in. He could never be too careful after Joffrey (which he was glad to hear that Sansa had broken up with him).

  


"He's the sweetest guy I've ever met. He's smart, funny, kind...", Jon rambled on.

  


"That's good", Ned stopped him before he went on for too long, knowing how Jon could get when he talked about something he was passionate about at length, "I can't wait to meet him. I'm happy for you, Jon".

  


"Thanks, dad", Jon thanked, using that noun again.

  


Just as their conversation ended, the doorbell rang. That could only be the Baratheons, so Ned went over to let them in.

  


**7:53pm, December 25th, 2015**  


**  
**

They were all seated around the table, filling the house with sounds of merry laughter and chatter while Catelyn brought out the food.

  


She giggled like a girl to herself when she saw everyone's mouths water at the sight and smell of succulent turkey, leeks coated in melted cheese, steaming carrots and parsnips, warm mince pies, and other dishes of Christmas food. Deserts would come later, but Catelyn anticipated a similar reaction (if they all weren't already full by then).

  


Ned had let Robert in when he had come over earlier in the afternoon, and the two old friends proceeded to share a couple of cigars and a bottle of scotch in Ned's study for a couple of hours while they exchanged old stories.

  


Thankfully, Robert had divorced his horrible wife Cersei Lannister 3 years ago, so neither she nor her cruel son Joffrey were here this year. Instead, Robert had brought along his more pleasant children: Tommen and Myrcella, as well as some other children who were slightly older - who turned out to be his bastard children from over the years - called Gendry, Edric, and Mya.

  


They all sat down, and Cat allowed each of the children one glass of champagne. She kept a suspicious eye on Sansa and Myrcella who were sat next to each other. To say that Catelyn was paranoid would be an understatement, but she still preferred the term 'cautious'. She wouldn't let another one of her children become gay. Especially her golden child, Sansa.

  


But after she heard Myrcella mention something about a boyfriend down in Dorne, Catelyn finally relaxed, returning back to the festivities at hand.

  


Ned and Robert were currently playing a drinking game which involved seeing who could drink the most ale.  _How crude_ , Catelyn thought, but laughed anyway as she was slightly tipsy herself.

  


The table erupted in laughter when Robert accidentally spilled ale all over himself.

  


"Argh!", Robert growled, sounding hilariously similar to the kids' pet dogs. "You win, Ned. I'm getting old..."

  


"...and fat", Ned added cheekily, making Robert roar in laughter again.

  


"I need to take a piss", Robert muttered, struggling to stand up, and struggling even further to walk in a straight line to the bathroom.

  


Suddenly Catelyn felt a familiar hand resting on her knee. Catelyn looked at the hand, and then up at Ned, who was looking at her lovingly. Catelyn covered his hand with her own before giving it a squeeze. "I need to get the desserts", she said apologetically. Ned nodded understandingly.

  


Catelyn stood up and went into the kitchen. What she saw next made her scream.

  


Rickon was standing at the centre of the kitchen, buck naked, putting things into places where no 13-year-old boy should be putting anything. Tommen was on all fours in front of Rickon, but stood up immediately at the sound of Catelyn screaming. It turned out that Catelyn was keeping an eye on the wrong children.

  


**1:59am, December 26th, 2015**  


**  
**

Ned rolled to the side, but found his wife's side of the bed empty and cold. Ned rolled back over to his side, and his elbow grazed something on his bedside table. He turned his lamp on and found a glass of water sitting there. He gulped it down thirstily, thankful for the refreshment.

  


With the light on, Ned looked around the room for his wife. She was sitting in a chair, staring vacantly out of the window.

  


"Honey?", Ned called out.

  


"This is all your fault", she whispered.

  


"What?", Ned asked, confusion clear in his voice.

  


She didn't respond. The tension in the air was so thick that it nearly made Ned suffocate. After a while, he figured out what she was talking about.

  


"Listen...", he began, "...what happened with Rickon..."

  


"It's not just Rickon!", Catelyn snapped, "Jon, Robb, Bran, and probably Arya! It's all your fault! You're an awful father! You let them be this way!", she spat venomously.

  


That hurt to hear more than Ned would ever admit, but he knew that Catelyn didn't really mean it. "You don't mean that", he said as such, "they're still our children, Cat. You still love them as much as before. What does it matter who they love? We should be happy for them, not judgemental, otherwise one day they'll leave us".

  


It was then that Ned noticed the tears rolling down his wife's cheeks. He couldn't even comprehend how she still had tears left after the past two days, and also how she even managed to stay awake without any sleep. This was clearly bothering her, and he would put an end to it right now.

  


"I always wanted grandchildren", Catelyn croaked out. "Now I won't have any", she said sadly.

  


Ned went over to where she was sitting and wiped the tears from her face, kissing the palms of her hands and the tip of her nose in order to cheer her up. "Of course you will. Just because they're homosexual doesn't mean they can't adopt or have a surrogate", he reasoned, "and there's still Sansa. She's not gay yet", he said. Ned immediately regretted saying 'yet'. Why did he have to include that? Why did he even say it? Thankfully Cat either didn't seem to notice or ignored it.

  


"I suppose so", Catelyn found herself in agreement.

  


"Now, come on. Let's get back to bed. You need some sleep", Ned said, gently guiding her back into their bed.

  


Ned intended to let Catelyn sleep until midday if that was what she needed. And she certainly did, what with all the news she's received over the last two days.

  


**11:59pm, December 31st, 2015**  


**  
**

Everyone was counting down with the TV to the New Years countdown. They were throwing a massive party at their house, so the room was packed with Starks and friends of the Starks chanting along with the descending numbers. Even Edmure was here with his new Dornish girlfriend.

  


_10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!_  


_  
_

The room went up in cheers and confetti as the fireworks on the TV went off, illuminating the dark living room.

  


Catelyn looked around for Ned, wanting to share the New Years kiss with him, but he was nowhere to be seen.  _Probably drinking with Robert_ , she thought.

  


Looking around, practically everyone else was kissing. It was almost as if the gods were teasing her. Catelyn decided to sit down and play a game, which involved taking a seat and looking at who was kissing who, and then teasing said people in the morning about it.

  


Naturally, the first person she saw was Rickon, who had his lips pressed against one of the Frey boys'. The sight didn't anger her as much as it used to. She had matured over the past week, and come to accept that her sons were all homosexual. Some sleep and time to reflect had really helped. She had made her apologies with all of them, and gave them all long overdue congratulations.

  


The fact that Rickon was kissing a Frey was kind of ironic, in fact. Catelyn remembered a few years ago when she had set Robb up with a Frey girl in an attempt to get him a girlfriend.

  


Next, Catelyn saw Arya. She was making out passionately with Gendry, one of Robert's bastard sons. Catelyn was pleasantly relieved to see that it was a boy and not a girl. But she quickly had to look away when Arya started to get... physical.

  


Catelyn then continued looking through the crowd, seeing if there was anything else interesting.

  


There definitely was.

  


Sansa was kissing someone, and it certainly wasn't Joffrey. Catelyn couldn't see his face, but the boy had long, curly chestnut hair.

  


However, when a firework went off on the TV and brightened the room for a moment, Catelyn saw that it wasn't a boy at all. All she needed was that moment. Catelyn identified the girl whom Sansa was kissing as Margaery Tyrell!

  


That was it. The final straw had broken. It was the final push that sent Catelyn over the cliff. Her sweet, innocent, little Sansa was gay. This couldn't be possible. No, it couldn't be, right?

  


Catelyn blacked out.

  


**1:30am, January 1st, 2016**  


**  
**

Ned sat at the foot of the bed while Catelyn slowly woke up. She had given everyone quite a fright when she passed out randomly. But Ned soon recognised the source of it when he spotted Sansa holding hands with Margaery Tyrell. He had known about it for a couple days now, and was waiting for the right time to tell Cat. He supposed that it didn't matter now.

  


Catelyn slowly gathered her senses, and shot up when she gathered her wits. "Ned! It's Sansa...!".

  


"I know", Ned interrupted her.

  


Catelyn sighed and fell back against the pillows. Ned was half-expecting another rant from his wife. However, he certainly wasn't expecting what actually happened next. Catelyn was laughing maniacally.

  


"Are you ok?", Ned broached.

  


"Yeah, I'm fine. I just realised something", Catelyn said in between giggles.

  


"What is it?", Ned asked, genuinely curious.

  


"I got it completely wrong", she said.

  


"Care to clarify?", Ned teased.

  


A smile broke out on Cat's face. "It turns out that Arya  _isn't_ the gay one".


End file.
